Spirit
by Fairy Struck
Summary: How powerful can I be if I can't save those who matter to me." Yami's point of view of Joey and Yugi's duel while Marik controls Joey with the Millenium Rod. Pre-Battle City Finals. Bakura is in this, oddly enough.


**A/N: Alright, so this takes place during the duel between Yugi and Joey when Joey is under Marik's control, it's from Yami's point of view. Enjoy!**

The tomblike walls seemed to run on forever, endless doors to match the endless amount of questions, the only thing that could be gleaned from the ancient space was the Egyptian hieroglyphics next to the one door that the resident knew would lead somewhere. Outside of the heavy metal gateway, with it's all seeing eye, was a hallway. The place that the two minds split, the place that the spirits could come together and be one.

Yami wasn't in that hollowed space as he normally was during a duel, no, he was pacing in front of the main doorway. A place he often haunted, not wishing to explore into the depths of his mind to see how little he truly knew about himself. As he began to pass the door again he couldn't help but tilt his head a little to see if any sound would escape underneath it. Even though he knew there was only a slight chance he couldn't help but feel a little disappointment. How was Yugi faring against Joey? Had he been able to break the hold Marik had over their friend? Had Téa gotten out from under the crate that hung over her head like certain death?

He had to trust Yugi to do this on his own, he could. He had beaten Bandit Keith while he was under Marik's control.

_But that wasn't as dangerous. So much more is at stake now. His life. Yugi will not die today._

Yugi with his innocent eyes and happy personality. The young boy with the burden to save the world. His aibou. The urge to open that door just to see how well he was faring against Marik was nearly overwhelming but he beat it back. He believed in Yugi to win this, he was a talented duelist. His protégé as Pegasus had once called him. Yami ground his teeth in frustration.

"So say good-bye as I attack your life points again with yet another Hinotama magic card! Fire shower attack!" Joey yelled out in triumph, the voice that was so well known, now horribly altered, a second merging with it, making it seem almost robotic. Yami's eyes snapped down to the crack underneath the doorway as a flash of red light glowed. The cry of pain that followed seemed to cut him like a knife, stabbing deep into his heart where those he cared about were hidden away from the world, those he would stop at nothing to protect.

"Marik! Your battle is with me not him! Coward! Face me yourself!" The Pharaoh wasn't sure whom he was yelling at as he tilted his head back and stared in the direction the ceiling should have been, there was only vague shadows hovering there, a place his eyes could not penetrate. No one could hear him here, Yugi perhaps but he was murmuring to himself about his final idea, trying to move past the devastation that last attack had caused. Growling in anger Yami lashed out at the wall, turning his back on the maze that was his mind.

Laughter, low and muffled, seemed painfully loud in the silence following his outburst. Instinctively he stiffened, not daring to move.

"Look at the mighty Pharaoh now. All powerful, yet here he stands snivelling over a teenage brat who bosses him around. How far we have fallen your majesty. How far indeed." The voice was barely speaking above a whisper, dripping with disdain, it seemed as though the owner was having difficulty holding back more outward signs of sadistic pleasure at the moment. The voice chuckled softly once more, unaware of his subjects attentiveness.

Yami's sharp violet eyes looked up and for an instant he could have sworn he had seen the outline of someone hiding in the shadows. But even as his foot found the bottom of a nearby staircase it was gone, vanishing like the ghosts it so often used as servants.

_Was that…? But that's impossible…How could he possibly be in here?_

The very ground seemed to quiver underneath him, the Pharaoh abruptly ended that train of thought and brushed it clean from his mind, forgotten for now. Yami reached out instinctively for the solid wall, the only thing in all of his mind not to move oddly enough. In a parallel passage way an ancient spirit with a shock of white hair cursed to himself though not seeming phased by the shuddering floor, he was quite used to the sensation of a Millennium Item being separated from its host. _What is the mini Pharaoh doing? _

Yami didn't care anymore. He yanked at the doorway leading to the connecting hallway and found himself stop short. _What has Yugi done?_ Vaguely he could see the outline of the entrance to Yugi's soul room, wide open as the resident paced among the scattered toys. But dominant in his vision was what appeared to be a large pane of glass. Hesitantly reaching out the Pharaoh tapped his fist against it, listening to the bell like echo that faded away into the corners of his mind. Yugi looked up and stared solemnly at his aibou before mouthing one word.

"Sorry." _Sorry? _What was this glass wall doing there? Memory came suddenly, something he actually could recall he thought bitterly. Bandit Keith stealing the Puzzle from Yugi and demanding the two duel to see who would gain power over the mystical item. Yugi had won alone, without the Puzzle around his neck their bond had been weak, unable to share messages within their joint mind. This same barrier had separated them then too.

_He gave up the Puzzle. Why? Who could he have possibly given it to-_

_Joey. _Yugi gave the Puzzle to Joey_. _Who was under Marik's control. _Oh Ra. _

A bang on the glass drew the Pharaoh out of his thoughts. Yugi was on the other side, eyes wide with fear, but not for himself, that much Yami could tell. Fear for someone else? Joey? Téa? His mouth opened, urgency evident in the way his hand clawed at the wall, desperate to get his attention. _What was happening out there? _

Yami reached up to where his heart should have been beating, pain, not unlike taking a direct hit to ones life points in a Shadow Game, was tearing at him. And then there was cool darkness swallowing him in its oblivious grasp.

A former tomb robber felt his eyes adjust to the swirling blackness before him. This was all too familiar. He had stayed here for 3000 years. No light. No sound but his own ragged breathing. Not even the Pharaoh was anywhere to be seen and it was his own Puzzle. Or what remained of it.

_Marik! When I get out of this I will personally run you over with your own damned motorcycle. You knew I coveted the items, yet here you go breaking one of them. _Well, Bakura assumed it was Marik who had caused the disassembling of the Puzzle a portion of his soul resided in. Bakura licked his bottom lip. _Now what am I supposed to do? Sit and wait for some human to come and fix this wasteful detour?_

This was all the chibi's fault. It had to be. That little look-alike had given up the Millennium Puzzle to someone like an idiot. Who just handed over priceless Egyptian artifacts? Items that could open up the Door of Darkness and awaken the Great Lord Zorc? Apparently naïve reincarnations. The brat was just like Ryou. Weak, mouldable, gullible and many other less desirable qualities. Why his majesty put up with his host was beyond him. When the Puzzle was reassembled, and Bakura was sure that would happen soon enough, the Pharaoh wouldn't be angry at all with the little runt. No he would still protect him and those other meddling children just like any other day.

Sentimental fool. They were both 3000 year old spirits in the middle of a centuries old battle. You didn't see him caring for his host. Vaguely he wondered how landlord was doing in the hospital. Quite suddenly he was sitting back in a small alcove in the one of the many corridors of the Pharaoh's mind. _About time. _

Yami snapped his eyes open. He was back in the corridor though it felt like he had only just vacated it. The glass pane was still there. Yugi was back in his soul room, the door now closed. _Now I'm not even able to eavesdrop_. Rubbing his head, not wishing to dwell on what had just happened, he turned his back on his partner and wandered back into his mind, the layout was different. He noticed that immediately. Doors where stairs had been before, vast expanses of space where once was narrow hallways leading deeper into the maze made of questions and doubt.

It felt different. More charged with energy. In fact he felt more "alive", if you could call it that, then he had in…well since the last time his soul had slept. The last time the container of his spirit had been broken. An idea forming, the lost king of Egypt travelled the well beaten path to the room of his recent memories. This at least remained in the same location. It was plain like all the others, empty at first glance. Shutting the door behind him he watched as images of his friends appeared; Mokuba leaning forward with interest as he retold his story, sceptical Kaiba trying to help stop the deadly duel, Téa pulling at her restraints as she screamed about their bond of friendship, Joey gritting his teeth in determination while trying to dispel Marik from his mind. With those impressions in his heart Yami concentrated. When he wished to cast a projection out of the Puzzle it was usually easy, he simply drew the required energy from his bond with Yugi. Not this time.

_You're not the only one he needs to know they can act alone aibou._

He knew it had worked when he could hear the crash of the ocean waves beneath his feet and the ticking of the timer above his head, counting down to the moment the anchor would drop below the sea dragging with it two teenage boys.

"It's my decision. So now-" The Pharaoh registered how Yugi's voice was thick with unshed tears. _What's happening? _Red Eyes Black Dragon lay weakly on its stomach, it's left wing torn. Mystical Rift Panel hovered over his light half's side of the field, glowing with some trapped magic card. Joey, with the Millennium Puzzle around his neck, was watching his best friend with dread. Téa, Mokuba, Mai, Tristan, Duke and whom he assumed was Serenity were moving along the pier, edging towards the dock the two opponents stood on. _When did they get here? _Kaiba stood alone, next to the chair Téa had been held captive in.

"No Yugi!" Joey cried.

"Take care of my Puzzle. Now it's time, Rift Panel direct your attack toward me!" _He's sacrificing himself. He's saving Joey and destroying himself. _The fear clawed at his throat threatening to suffocate him, not that he needed air to breathe in this form. Yugi was going to die. _And I can't do anything. _The shaft of fire spiralled out from the Panel and flew at the small boy's frame until it completely enveloped him like a deadly tornado.

"Yugi!" The light glowed grotesquely on Joey's face. Téa, Tristan, Mai and Mokuba were running now, screaming out to him, while Duke guided Serenity forward, her hands rubbing her bandages. Yami dimly noticed that even Kaiba looked frightened. And then his aibou was falling, the smoke drifting in lazy swirls around his body. The counter hit zero and Joey's box clicked open revealing the key to his survival.

"Joey! Free yourself now! You've only got thirty seconds to make it out then the anchor falls! You have to unlock your chains now. Come on Joey. Hurry! Before the anchor falls and pulls you under!" His voice was so soft, so weak, so desperate. The Pharaoh clenched his fists. _Nothing you can do. An invisible witness to an event that can change the destiny of the world. _

The timer blared out, a bell tolling the two friends expected deaths. _All powerful. That's what I'm told I am. Everyone wants my power, yet where is it now? I locked away the Shadow Games and saved the world. Yet here I stand. Useless. How strong can I be if I can't even safe those who matter most to me? A spirit is all I am. _

Yugi, not even fighting the inevitable force of gravity, was dragged across the wooden boards.

_I'm powerless to stop this. _Yami felt himself fall to his knees watching the spiky hair sink below the surface.

"Joey!" Hand reaching out.

"Tristan!" Fingers stretching, trying to grasp that of a friend.

_If I was human I could grab the keys and save them. _

"No! Yugi! Joey!" Her scream of agony barely registered on his dulled senses as he watched yet another one he loved disappear into the blue abyss.

_If I was human Yugi wouldn't be in this situation. _

Their shadows grew smaller, crushed beneath a force that could tear apart the earth.

_If I didn't exist no one would be here now. If I didn't exist Yugi would live. Aibou. _Hands that weren't real held the Pharaohs head as tears hovered on the edge of his eye lids. _My fault. I'm so sorry Yugi. So sorry. _

Something broke the surface of the water. He glanced up.

_Yugi. _And so he kneeled on the edge of the docks as his other half was hauled out of the water. As Serenity dove under for her brother. As Joey too broke the surface of the sea, panting for breath. They were safe. Alive.

He drifted, invisible, among them. Watching hug of relief, tears of joy, a disgruntled Kaiba tapping his foot in annoyance, apologises from people who shouldn't be sorry.

"I believe this is yours." Joey commented as he hung the chain for the Millennium Puzzle around Yugi's neck. "Thanks for everything pal."

"Thank you for saving my life Joey."

_That reminds me. __I owe a big thanks to you too Yami. You trusted me enough to let me to handle this on my own. I could never have broken through to Joey if you didn't believe in me. You and I make a great team but it's also nice to know that I have the strength to hold my own if I have to. And you helped me find that strength, inside myself. _

The wall was gone, the Puzzle returned, Marik defeated for another day. Yet things would be different from this moment on, the Pharaoh knew, forever altered, never to be the same.

Bakura reclined underneath a staircase, enjoying the quiet atmosphere of his centuries old rival's mind.

"You seem to be remembering your majesty, that you're only a spirit. You don't belong here, in this time. And you never will."

**A/N: So that was….yeah. Sorry if it's really confusing at parts but Yami has no idea what's happening. It was meant to be a Yami/Yugi oriented fic, not romantic, but Bakura somehow managed to weasel his way in and completely change the idea of it. Well I'll post it like this nevertheless. Anyway I'm interested to hear what you thought. Please leave a review!**

**Fairy Struck.**

**It wants you to click it. **

V


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